ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented move in the SCO context, India has denied Pakistan’s participation in bloc’s seminar on armed forces’ contributions to military medicine, healthcare and pandemics held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

In doing so, India has arguably misused its position as the current chair and acted irresponsibly in denying a sovereign member state the right to participate in an SCO event.

“Pakistan has rejected Indian excuse that it could deny participation of a member state from an SCO event on the basis of a flawed understanding about the nature of a disputed territory between Pakistan and India,” said a senior Pakistani official familiar with the development.

India has raised objection to a map which shows Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory.

“Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally-recognized disputed territory, whose final disposition is to be made in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations,” said the official.

In line with its strong commitment to the Shanghai spirit and the Charter and objectives of the SCO, he said that Pakistan has been participating with a positive and constructive approach in the various SCO events being held under current chairmanship of India.

He added that Pakistan has urged India not to exploit its SCO Chairmanship to advance its self-serving objectives and politicize the organization.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023